So still and beautiful lays the rose in the heather,
Lifeless and dying, given to bring you happiness,
So fragile is this rose laying in heather,
Slowly withering and drying, crumbling to a powder,
I look at you and see this rose ever fading,
Once growing, living, accenting its surroundings,
But now gone, plucked from the bush by one mans lust,
I could never compare you to this rose laying in the heather,
For your beauty surpasses its own,
So still and beautiful lays this rose in the heather,
Now dried cracking and dead, stored in a book to bring memories,
So weak and faded is this rose in yellowing heather,
Slowly falling apart as you touch the fragile petals,
I look at you and remember the flower when it faded,
That germinated and grew where I had sown its seed,
Now gone, plucked from the ground by one mans hope,
I would never compare you to this old heather and roses,
For its life was surpassed by yours,
Now I tell you I love you with cellophaned roses in heather,
Draining lifeless this dying confession of my dreaming,
This rose is more fragile then the first had I gave you,
But I could’t approach, my courage eroding at your sight,
I look at you now and see the love I sought inward,
Once alive and growing but only within lost confines of myself,
But never quite gone I hold this consuming fire close inside,
I could never combine your world with mine,
You always looked passed never noticing me,
Now I open my book that holds the first rose, wishing I gave it for the sake of
chance,
Instead I hold a created memory that never came passing,
That never could I fear,
I hold tight to the lie that through wonted silence I painted,
But that chance for your love died with the first rose wrapped in heather.

Oh, mild flower I chanced to meet,
A ruby red, yet so discreet.
She'd never seen a hue my blue.
Sweet deathly rose that I once knew.
Her fragrance wafted on the breeze,
And all were drawn to her with ease.
I put down roots near her and grew.
Sweet deathly rose that I once knew.
Though in her garden all seems well,
there still are things she hates to tell.
Her thorns, a shield, conceal what's true.
Sweet deathly rose that I once knew.
Beneath her thorns, resentment grows.
Disturb her and her petals close!
I learned too well what could ensue. . .
Sweet deathly rose that I once knew.
A casual remark was said.
Her ruby rose turned scarlet red. . .
I guiltless pled. Did I misdo?
Sweet deathly rose that I once knew.
A fury she had kept so deep
had been unleashed; it made me weep.
Retaliation cut me through.
Sweet deathly rose that I once knew.
A leaf of peace she offered me:
Be friends, but only partially.
But I refused and shall eschew
Sweet deathly rose that I once knew.

A Tear Drop on a Rose
For here I stand amongst the garden
Vines along the gated path
Songs of never left forgotten
Blooming in the aftermath
Thus I find my heart is broken
Soft the air of fragrance pure
Lush within this fertile garden
Beauty I shall see no more
Silhouettes I long to beckon
Wave as if they need me so
Shadows formed on perfect hedges
Happiness I used to know
Winds of change now come to greet me
Whispering their sad refrain
To the sky, what is the meaning
I shall never love again
Lonely now my scented feelings
Rooted in the dark abyss
Memories now cast a calling
Looking back on times to miss
If by chance you walk this garden
Here where every flower grows
Find that I have left a message
In a teardrop on a rose

Winds may howl,
Wild animals growl,
The forest grows cold,
For I am lonesome and old
As the sun peaks through the clouds,
I hear your soft, young voice so loud!
And though you speak dead man's lines,
You speak them with majesty divine
As I am wrapped in my woe,
I only want you to know...
...that roses die black and violets lose blue,
But I will never die
And you know I love you!

I see a red, red rose covered with dew.
It is perfect; I pick it for my dear.
My lonely heart is strained and I feel blue.
There on his grave I stand where wild shrubs grew,
how can I ever stop even one tear?
I see a red, red rose covered with dew.
How the man had died I’d wish to pursue.
Thinking of it my heart is full of fear
My lonely heart is strained and I feel blue.
God knew how much he played with his canoe.
Why did he have to paddle to the pier?
I see a red, red rose covered with dew.
Was it a freak wave that made him fall through?
Indeed the whole affair was rather queer.
My lonely heart is strained and I feel blue.
I kneel in prayer as if in a pew,
for now all are left without any cheer.
I see a red, red rose covered with dew.
My lonely heart is strained and I feel blue.
Villanelle Me A Flower Contest
Sponsored By Broken Wings 06/18/2016
Placed 4

you can love
in a just a single moment
so deeply
that the loss
is felt for a lifetime
it doesn't take time
to form love's bond
sometimes it is immediate
a connection of heart and soul
that defies logic or explanation
these thoughts crowd the mind
as flowers she lays
among her memories
silently filling
petals with tears
for blue eyes now closed
forever gleam brilliantly
smiles given so eagerly
with tiny lips of kisses
still hold her heart captive
so she lays a white rose
for every day
that her little girl
blessed her with her presence
and one red bleeding rose
to represent the pain of her loss
for even in the agony,
the joy far outweighed the pain
time means nothing when you love
the gift is to love at all...

The rose has been raped of her beauty
Stolen by hordes of dreary lines
And to be leached further still
Until nothing remains of her
But yellowing birthday cards
And sugar-free quotes, in italics
Like a rose is like nothing at all

your velvety blossoms
slowly withers away
once tender roots
have now decayed
at the thought i cringe
such insidious disease
gradually infects
each and every leaf
moldy black spots
crinkled stained edges
your magnificent growth
gradually suppresses
your unsurpassed beauty
now fuzzed up and gray
crinkled debilated stems
a dull distorted array
shoots barely opened
leaves now curled and bent
such unforgettable moment
your petals soon descend
your spicy scent has drifted
such sickly brittle vein
Flowers now discolored
and left to thrive on pain
after months of nurturing
your once marvelous display
the thought of you slowly wilting
has left me in dismay
*My theme is taken from Constance's Poem "in Memory of a rose"*

A soul weeps in flesh for the pain I left behind.
I am sorry for the pain,the tears, I left for you to bear.
These healing words I send with a bumble bee to heal a bleeding rose.
These napkin like words I pray can wipe your tears and snotty nose.
I was young and naive,I cherished my pride instead of your heart .
There the coldest winter did start.
If it makes you happy I disposed of the mistress.
Who faded in long lost memory of shadowed kisses.
No,no,no I am sorry for writing that,
its a poets bold habit of honesty,
but in writing this I thought i should be honest and honest I shall be.I apologize for leaving your emotions suppressed,unknown and ostracized.
Yes, I know the ocean swollen with your tears,the angels descended on a bloody battle field to hear your cry.I hope you can summons them again and reconsider the report to the almighty farther.
If I could write this apology in the eye of the sky I would,for my remorse to be seen , a once foolish human being .Your heart I didn't mean to decay. I apologize for the lies, cries,for making you eat sadly all those ice creams and soggy apple pies,from absorbing tears fallen from yours eyes. Left to wonder in the vastness of the universe alone. I am sorry also sorry for the smudged ink and some of the lines. I cried along with them, imaging your painful times.
Yours truly Elliott Bowe
To:Simone Descartes

'Crashing'....Into the rocks....
I stare, until a light mist
Gathers itself within my eyes
I gance to my left, towards the cove
A sailboat sailing, just beyond an empty shore
I peer, I stare, but, 'She' is not there
I resend my sight....
Her bluest, of alluring blue eyes
Heavenly eyes~Her timeless glow!
Wearing a flowered sundress
Her shining, and flowing auburn hair
Standing there ~
I beam, as I gently ring the chimes
Those, that she did once fashion
Forever there, now by my side
Dolphines and butterflies
Her favorite flower....'A Crimson Rose' ~
I then set my coffee down
And, gather them within my hand
I think, I shall keep the top up, today
It is, kind of cold....
"Can we dear, can we"
Peter Gabriel ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Driving down a coastal road
On a grey and cloudy, seaside day
Somber silence, as I look toward the west
The oceans breaks, as I glance upon its edge....
Gazing, beyond its horizon, and beyond all time ~
Turning back ahead, and into the rear view mirror
A tiny heart, red, and her golden cross!
A tear from the corner of my eye, falls, as I arrive
I slowly pull up, park, and once again, get out
Across the solemn ground
That I have crossed before, I walk
I quietly and humbly kneel down
As I run my fingers, through her glistening hair....
"Hello my love," I say, as I lay them tenderly
Before 'Her Eyes!'~
There, for her grace to see~'Her Beauty!'
I carefully arrange them, my heart bleeding inside
As I remove the old~"And there you are, 'My Dear!'"
I then stand, and I hold her close....
Kissing the perfectness, of her wonderous lips!
And I whisper, "always," into her everlasting soul ~
"Forever 'My Love,' forever!"
A bright gleaming as I look unto the sky
And then, I close my eyes....
"In your eyes, the light the heat, I am complete"
"Can we dear, can we"
She giggles, as I hand her an eternal
And neverending promise, once again, within
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~A Crimson Rose~

It was only a few days
On their barren soil
Through a doorway he went
So many lives now spoiled
An explosive device
Plastic in design
Could never be detected
Now a life resigns
The regimental medic
Rushes to his aid
To stem his internal bleeding
Through his eyes he fades
His lifeless soul lies lonely
As he is gently stretchered away
Where he will be flown back home
To where the angels play
In honoured ceremony
As he is carried to his carriage
On the tarmac awaits
His fiance, without marriage
In the chapel of rest
She stands in a tear laden pose
Her tribute to her lost one
With him goes a Rose
For tomorrow she will awake
A new day in her life
As she remembers her love
Who would have made her his wife
http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/loss-2.php

I can't go on
The noise in my head
Futures bleak
Tomorrow i dread
Please come and see me
And I'll open my heart
Talk me through
And we will make a new start.
As quick as i could
The journey was made
As i opened the door
On the table was laid
An envelope,
Bearing my name
On the out side
It read.
I knew you would come
Thank you my dear
Your a wonderful man
Year after year
Inside, there's a letter
Written by me
I have decided,
What my futures to be
Don't be shocked
It's where i want to be
But don't worry
I'll be close to thee.
I open the letter
And unfold it out
It's totally blank
My life's without
I sit down stunned
My world apart
Making plans with my girl
For our new start
Hours pass like minutes
As sirens wail
A train has stopped
On the Northern Line rail
From her window i see
Her car all crushed
People turning away
In sickened rush
As i look at the letter
Blank as new
Our future decided
From that window view.
http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/loss2.php

My mother was like a rose
beautiful at sight
frail to touch.
She could stand up
and say her mind.
She needed love
I feel like she never got any.
And that’s why she withered away
like a rose.
Her heart was pure,
her soul made of gold.
She’d rustle in the wind,
and hide when cold,
much like a blooming rose.
Day by day
a petal would drop
‘til nothing was left.
She was the dying rose.
And as each day goes by
without her sweet melody,
I tell myself this:
I must not cry that she is gone
but smile,
she was here.
Written by my 10-y.o. daughter Payton

Beloved, lovely roses: gift of God and lover’s flower,
Spread your colored petals and cradle tender showers.
While admiring the blossoms with their beauty to behold,
Ought we not to know the Tender of such lovely garden groves?
For He lovingly and thoughtfully wields His pruning shears
To cut away the stems of old for fuller future years.
He cultivates and feeds them. He attends them as a Father
Looking daily to their needs; so faithfully He waters.
From the dawn of morning dew until the setting sun arrays
Caring always for His own until that great appointed day…
When the Gardener comes to claim each one the earth held as its own.
He gently picks it at its peak and for His pleasure takes it home.
As God did one glorious morning, when the Perfect Rose had bloomed.
He rolled away the stone and met with Mary at the tomb.
There the sweetest Rose of Sharon rose that we die not alone.
But be gathered for a garden grove, surrounding heavens throne.

My brother is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. I still remember that day

His Human Heart
He laid red rose upon white casket
Tears were hidden behind dark glasses
People are such righteous asses
This question I just had to ask it
A wounded heart will not outlast it
This human life quickly passes
This human dream was love’s excess
Why was his love so very wrong?
Gender doesn’t really matter
Human dreams are still shattered
He laid red rose upon white casket
Was their love so very wrong?
The question I just had to ask it
His human heart still sang love’s song.

A white rose
In bloom on Paddy’s grave
White the colour of his fur
And white was once the colour for true love
I planted the bush the day he died
And now it’s part of him
The day we lost him
Is still too painful to think about
St Patrick’s Day
I remember, instead
The year before Pads died
We expected to lose him then
But stronger medication gave him more time
Gave us more time
Eastertime
The garden full of happy daffodils
Like the whole world was smiling with us
Now I stand at his grave
Kiss the last rose
And whisper, ‘I love you.’
4th November for Constance’s Elegy contest

I laid a rose upon her grave today
After other mourners had walked away
Of the love we shared we could not say
I laid a rose upon her grave today
I wept for her from a distant pew
The nights we shared were a splendid few
A sacred love only we both knew
I wept for her from a distant pew
I said goodbye in a silent prayer
Of the love inside, she was aware
She knew, for her, how much I care
I said goodbye in a silent prayer

A sweet flower's funeral
displayed in the cold months
of snowy weather and bone chilling shivers.
A sweet flower burned away, dried up;
buried six feet under.
Oh, my sweet flower,
how you once bloomed with no remorse,
like a madman blooming with beauty
and a glorious halo over your head
shinned with such power and blinding glory.
Oh my sweet flower how you have gone now,
resting in peace in the land of paradise.
Oh, my heart it is weak when I see your face,
of once beautiful smiles and warm embraces.
I can hear your crying out to be free.
Snowing and bone chilling cold ripes at my soul
and feelings of sorrow rage through my blood,
boiling my hatred to the world, for losing your
sweet and ever glorious beauty.
What I would give away, if I could be with you
one last night, one last night together
to hold you in my arms, to smell your sweet perfume
that brings back sweet memories of you and I.
What I would do to be with you,
such romance travels through my heart in the highways
of my veins in my body, love is all throughout me,
and my heart breaks when pictures of you start to collect dust.
My love for you, my sweet flower,
is still ingering through the air,
as I travel and look upon a tombstone
which shows your beautiful name.
Come to me my dear flower,
when spring comes,
come to me my dear, sweet flower.
And bloom once again,
twice as large as last year,
and ten times more beautiful then last year.
Come to me in the first months of spring
in my dreams, so I could sit and talk with you.
I miss you already,
and my heart crys,
my eyes flood with tears of sorrow.
I miss our love we shared.
Long walks,
cosy talks,
warm cuddling embraces
and beautiful displayed in a picture frame.
Now I hear the tapping of raindrops on my window pane.
That is all that keeps me company,
that and the rose you gave to me
and a picture of you and me.
Love is endless, even when blue eyed Death comes to visit
and play a game of chess with us,
we all play our game, my love.
I shall go tonight
in my sleepy slumber
and dream of you in the times of our height in our love for each other.
My lost love, you are gone, resting in paradise,
but never forgotten my sweet flower.
-10/6/2013-

I will grow old
I tremble in the cold
None to care
I have nothing to fear...
But my love is alive
Though I strive
Beautiful roses to pluck
Yet I am stuck..
I grow old with wrinkle
Yet I will kinker
You will always remain in my mind
This is how you will find...

Oh lovely rose song
Pressed in that book for so long
Music can't be wrong
Memories that stay
always recurring array
Learning how to pray
Thoughts engraved so deep
Everlasting pure, keep
Reminding of love
Oh that lovely rose
Pressed in that book that was closed
She lovingly chose
Memories that say
True love won't take her away
Momma I miss you

I am dead without my love.
It is simple as that.
I cannot breath without her,
I cannot eat without her,
I cannot write without her.
I cannot live without my love,
I am dead without my love.
I cannot prosper without her warm embrace,
I cannot think without her by my side.
always thinking of her, sharing her love I once had,
with another.
My heart breaks,
and my mind is gone.
I weap... I weap...
I cannot handle the betrayal of my once love.
I am stuck, sitting in dark corners of dark rooms,
staring at blank walls, thinking of what once was.
Her beauty,
her smile,
the laughs shared, and the tears we weaped together.
Holding hands, you and I, walking down sandy beaches,
and beautiful highways, full of love.
How we sat on park benches and kissed the night away.
I cannot believe you are gone, with another.
I did what I could,
I loved you endless time on my hand.
Our time spent together was special and near to the heart.
Do not expect for that happiness to come again.
For that has sailed, to far East, to the rising of the new day.
But, I cannot live one more day without my love.
For what I had with her is unexplainable and beautiful beyond definition.
I have seen the wayward signs point me to the direction of you.
But when we see each other, you don't spare a passing glance,
as if I was a ghost, an invisible man, like air.
That is when my heart breaks, torn in two, I cannot see me without you.
Walk with another, shall I go, now this without you.
For she is my everything, beauty and nature.
She is my rose, my violet, my nightingale singing her songs, in the twilight.
She is the sky, the sun, the moon, the trees, the grass.
She is everything to me.
She is even the summer storms and Winter blizzards that roll in and destroy,
beauty and harmony.
I cannot live without my love, for she is my one and only.
I do not like to beg, but love me once again and live with me forever.
For you know and I know, and the world knows,
That I cannot live without you,
I cannot live without my love,
For I am dead without my love.

~~
Tears, quiet, dead, useless tears falling,
Sorrow from a deep chasm of endless grief;
And my soul and heart are always weeping,
Stealing my happiness, life, like a thief;
And I am left broken, drifting like a leaf.
O Lord, whisper courage for my journey,
It is a hard choice to leave the past behind;
I want to soar like a wild bird happy,
Like a rose unfolding her petals in time;
To ride the wave of life, to seek and to find.
______________________________
June 22, 2014
Quintain x2
Submitted to the contest, Hard Choices, sponsor, Dr. Ram Mehta
10th Place

red streaks run along the
edges of the white petals
like the ones that run down her arms
trickling slowly down the stem
and to the floor
like the tears she sheds every
second of the day
the red stains upon the
leaves unwashed
the red stains upon her fingers
untouched
red stained carpet and
red stained cloths
a jacket worn at all times
a black jacket covering the scars
red puddles left behind
and a bleeding rose

Skeletal frame this autumn rose has lain,
through bitter chill that wore her glory down
for only whittled veins of time remain,
of what was night's luster and wondrous crown.
Laying on breast of final days, a brown
skin crumpled from moon's sheen to air's foam,
to rest in a cavern of whitened tomb.
Oh, her fragile petals hovered mid-air
releasing the hint of dark-tinted chrome
and extinguish the grandeur that was there.
Contest: Sad Poem- Dizain for Laura Loo
5/18/2016